Fixtures

Paul Duval

Cornwall U18 player Aaron Simmonds (Penryn RFC & Truro College) has been selected as part of the 23-man England Counties U18 squad who will face Ireland Clubs XV during two fixtures in April.

Aaron was one of four players who were selected to attend the South West U18 Divisional Final Assessment Day following two strong performances by Cornwall U18 in the South West U18 Championship. The four travelled to Hartpury College for the finals assessment day where they joined players from the other seven counties that make up the England Counties South West Division (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset & Wilts, Gloucestershire,Oxfordshire, Somerset). With Mares suffering a recurring hamstring injury early on in the assessment day he was unfortunately the one Cornwall player not to make the cut from 37 to 25.

The 25-man South West U18 squad then faced a very strong Gloucester Rugby U17 Academy side. This is a traditional fixture for the South West U18 and the time the premiership academy players seen together often shows in the result on the day, this season wasn't to be any different but the performance of the South West players after only a couple of training sessions was hugely promising. After the game the squad was to be cut from 25 to 23 and this would be the final squad to represent the South West in the National Divisional Weekend where they faced the Midland U18 & North U18. Simmonds, Austin & Nottle all made the cut to make the final 23.

With the South West putting in two very strong performances over the weekend but ultimately losing in very close competition, it was always going to be difficult to have South West players make the 23-man squad that would represent England Counties U18 for 2018.

With Austin & Nottle failing to make the final 23, Simmonds is one of only four South West Players who will pull on the England shirt this year.

England Counties U18 will play a fixture against Ealing Trailfinders academy in a warm up for the two main fixtures where they will face a strong Ireland clubs XV on 4th & 7th April in Portsmouth.

This is the second years in succession where Cornwall U18 group have had representation in the England Counties U18 squad as Simmonds follows in the footsteps of St Ives RFC & Penwith College player Jake Clemson played for his country last season.

All involved in Cornwall U17 & U18 Group would like to congratulate Aaron on his inclusion in the squad and wish him all the best for the upcoming games

This Sunday (18th Feb) sees Cornwall U17 Group finally get their season underway in a three-way fixture against Dorset & Wilts and Somerset.

The U17 group run a slightly different format than the U18 schedule as the focus at this monitoring the development of players with the final aim of gaining selection to the U18 group for the following season and ultimately South West Divisonal representation.

The CRFU U17 & U18 Group management have seen a huge number of players with this process beginning back in Feb/Mar 2017. The process involves players that are highlighted by their club coaches as potential Cornwall players, these players were invited to attend a number of open sessions where the Cornwall management, along with assistance from Cornish Pirates players, would select players they felt showed the attributes required. These include not only basic skill levels but physicallity and more imporatantly an excellent attitude toward playing for Cornwall.

The U17 team also attended a number of U16 club games and the Cornwall U16 club cups finals day at Newquay where again there were in excess of 160 players on show.

The U16 players are then left through the summer and then contacted again by the U17 & U18 management in early Sept to see if they are still playing rugby, if so are they at the same club , same position etc. There is a large number of "drop-outs" from the game in this transition from U16 to Colts rugby.

The U17 squad consists of approx 50+ players that will represent Cornwall U17 over 3 or 4 fixtures where the coaching team will be able to highlight those they consider potential U18 squad players. The coaching staff will also attend the Colts finals day to see if there is anyone who may have "slipped through the net"

This weekend sees Cornwalls first inter-county game which is a three-way fixture against Dorset & Wilts and Somerset. Cornwall will play a 40 min game against Dorset & Wilts, then a 40 min fixture against Somerset. This format allows for expanded squads and more flexibility to see players in different positions.

There are two of these fixtures for the U17 with the first being held at Bournemouth RFC and the second being held at Burnham-on-Sea RFC. Next season sees Cornwall hosting one of the rounds.

Three players from this season's Cornwall U18 squad have made the final cut to be part of the 23-man South West Division U18 squad for 2018. The boys are part of a succesful Cornwall U18 squad that lost only one fixture this season which was against an Exeter Chiefs Outreach U19 squad. At a county level they had victories against Devon, Oxfordshire and Somerset.

This year saw four Cornwall players selected to attend the South West Final Assessment Day (FAD) which was held at Hartpury College on 21st Jan. The FAD saw 37 players selected from the eight counties that make up the England Counties SW Division (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset & Wilts, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Somerset). The fourth player selected for the FAD was Josh Mares (Newquay RFC) who unfortunatley suffered a hamstring injury very early in the assessment day and didn't make the cut from 37 to 25.

The 25-man SW U18 squad then played a fixture against a strong well organised Gloucester Rugby U17 Academy. The SW lost narrowly to the premiership academy side but it gave the divisional players an insight to the level required to play at this level.

The squad was then cut from 25 to 23 and this makes up the final squad that will represent the SW in the divisional weekend which is being held at Stourbridge over the weekend of 23rd - 25th Feb. Here the players will be competeing against players from all over the country, with the ultimate aim of being selected to represent England Counties at U18 level.

The CRFU U17 & U18 group management hope to make it two years in succession that a player from the squad has pulled on a "red rose" shirt for their country after St Ives player Jake Clemson represented his country last season.

'All three boys played really well at the final selection day and represented the County with Pride' said Dave Saunter Chairman of Youth and Education for CRFU, adding ' the boys follow in a long line of successful players who have come through this system for Cornwall. Their school and club coaches should be very proud of their involvement in the boys’ development.'

At the time of writing Saunter was also really pleased to announce the Coaching team for the U17s/18's programme for the next 12 months. Paul Duval is remaining in place as Team Manager and the rest of the coaching team Head Coach Andy Hawkin, Forwards coach Mark Pullen and backs coach Phil Stansfield are all keen to continue.

‘This is great news for the county as the guys really know the system and how to prepare the players for this route.’

Finally, Keith Lean and Saunter will continue in their positions as South West Selectors.

From all involved in Cornish rugby, we wish the boys all the luck and would like to congratulate all four players who made it through to the FAD.

Cornwall's U18 squad travelled to the home of Hornets RFC in Weston-super-Mare this Sunday to open their U18 England Counties U18 campaign.

They faced a relative stranger at this age group in Oxfordshire, to my memory not a county Cornwall have ever played in this age group, or certainly not for a long time.

Playing on the recently laid artificial pitch at Hornets RFC, both sides were hoping for a quick flowing game and Cornwall seemed to start the stronger. With early pressure by the Cornwall pack leading to a try by U17 player Charlie Short from 3m out. At the request of the selectors there was to be no conversions taken during the campaign so as much game time could be played ( Cornwall 5 - 0 Oxfordshire)

Oxfordshire then began to bring some of their big forwards into the game with some very strong running close to the breakdown, Oxfordshire looked intent on trying to bludgeon their way through the Cornish defence but the "black & gold" held firm and managed to relieve the pressure through tenacity and commitment.

The game ebbed and flowed through the first half with both sides having good spells in their opponents "22" but Cornwall were unable to convert their territorial advantage into points. Had this been any other game either side may have been able to convert a number of penalties into points but, again at the request of the selectors, there were no kicks for goal from penalties allowed.

Oxfordshire were next to cross the line with more powerful running from their pack "sucking in" the Cornish defence which allowed the Oxfordshire back line to get to the outside of the Cornish line. Some weak tackling allowed the Oxfordshire winger to run in from 25m (Cornwall 5 - 5 Oxfordshire)

The first half came to an end 2 minutes early when a head injury to the Oxfordshire tighthead stopped the game. Quick reactions from from a Cornwall player made sure the injured player was immediately protected and the referee stopped the game. The Oxfordshire and Cornwall physio's attended to the player until an ambulance arrived. The second half was delayed around 45 mins while treatment was carried out and the player was removed from the field.

We have since found out that the player was taken to hospital for full checks but was released late last night with no serious injuries. Heavily concussed and will be out of the game until the New Year, everyone at Cornwall RFU U18 wishes him a quick recovery.

When the second half finally got back under way it was again Cornwall that began the stronger, this time however Cornwall were able to convert some of the pressure they were applying. With gaps beginning to appear around the park, Cornwall's more free flowing style began to pay dividends and players were seeming to make meters at will, but again the final decision or execution of the final pass weren't always good enough. However Cornwall managed to score a further three tries to take the score to 25-10.

With a number of changes to the Cornwall side, both personnel and positional, Cornwall lost a little structure late in the second half, and the last 10 mins seemed to be facing a strong last push from Oxfordshire. This continual pressure, linked in with team changes and fatigue, led to a number of penalties against the "black & gold" and had this been any other fixture could probably have seen a yellow card.

Oxfordshire finished the game with two late tries to bring the scoreline closer but the final whistle came in time and the victory was theirs (Cornwall 25 - 20 Oxfordshire)

Good to have the victory but Cornwall were disappointed that they didn't convert all the pressure they had in to points, the coaching team will be looking for a more clinical performance when the face Somerset in two weeks time at the same venue.

This is Cornwall's opening fixture in the 2017 England Counties SW Division Championship with their other fixture to be played on 16th Dec against Somerset.

Over the two fixtures the Cornish players will be assessed by SW Division U18 & England Counties U18 coaches. Hopefully then they will be selected to be part of the 37 man squad that will attend the SW Division Final Assessment Day (FAD) at Hartbury College in Gloucestershire.

If successful there, the players will then become part of the 23-25 man SW Division squad that will compete in the England Counties U18 Divisional Day, with the ultimate goal of pulling on the red rose shirt and represent England Counties U18 for the 2018 season.

The Cornwall squad will be competing against players from Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Devon, Dorset & Wilts, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Somerset.

Cornwall have already played Devon this season in a warm-up fixture where they took the spoils in a strongly contested game in Plymouth where the "black & gold" came away 17-19 victors.

Well done to the boys who beat Devon at Keyham on Sunday 29th October.

This Sunday (29th Oct) sees Cornwall U18 Group face the local rivals Devon at Keyham 3G (Plymouth) in a warm up fixture for this seasons U18 Championship. KO 2:00pm

Having lost to a strong and well organised Exeter Chiefs Outreach XV last week at Polson Bridge, the Cornwall coaching team will be looking for the players to start this game just like they finished the last. This is the final match before the squad get ready for their two fixtures in the 2017 England Counties (SW) U18 Championship in December.

This season sees Cornwall face Oxfordshire (3rd Dec) and Somerset (16th Dec) with both games being played on the new 3G pitch at Weston Hornets RFC in front of SW Division and England Counties selectors.

Cornwall will be hoping to improve on last year where they had 6 players selected from the two fixtures to attend the SW Division Final Assessment Day (FAD) at Hartbury College with 3 players selected to represent the SW Division in the National Divisional Tournament and St Ives 2nd Row Jake Clemson going on to represent England Counties U18 against Ireland.

The Cornwall U18 squad for the upcoming 2017/18 season has been released. The squad will begin working together in Aug in preparation for the fixture schedule which begins in Sept against Plymouth College 1st XV. The squad will play fixtures against Truro School 1st XV, Exeter Chiefs Outreach XV, Devon U18 and will culminate in two fixtures in the England Counties (SW Division) U18 Championship where they will play Oxfordshire on Sun 3rd Dec and Somerset on Sat 16th Dec.

Cornwall RFU U18 Squad 2017-18

Callum Looker (Camborne RFC)

Daryl Bristow (St Austell RFC)

Charlie Short (Launceston RFC)

Rory Mead (Bude RFC)

Olly Pugh (Truro RFC)

Chae Jenkins (Launceston RFC)

Joshua Barbery (St Austell RFC)

Billy Bromfield (Newquay RFC)

Leion Cole (Launceston RFC)

Sam Matthews (Hartbury College)

Thomas Walters (Liskeard RFC)

Patrick Parry (Redruth RFC)

Mawgan Osborne (Penzance & Newlyn RFC)

Robert Freeth (Camborne RFC)

Michael Austin (Truro School)

Dan Tyrell (St Austell RFC)

Aaron Simmonds (Newquay RFC)

Charlie Standen (Truro RFC)

Josh Mares (Newquay RFC)

Jordan Smith (Liskeard RFC)

Arthur Relton (Penzance & Newlyn RFC)

Fraser Nottle (St Austell RFC)

Joe Vanstone (Launceston RFC)

Luke Couch (Launceston RFC)

Shea Cornish (Penzance & Newlyn RFC)

Rhys Colrein (Liskeard RFC)

Congratulations to all the players who have been selected but the U18 Group management team would like to thank all players, parents and clubs who have supported the the U17 & U18 programme over the past season and the attitude and commitment from everyone has been fantastic....here's to a successful season!!

The Cornwall U17 Group season is now under way for 2016-17. The U17 Group follows a different format than other age grades as the focus is on a larger squad, giving more players the opportunity to pull on a Cornwall shirt. The process began early 2016 when the U16 "Open Access" sessions were held at Newquay and Wadebridge RFC. These sessions saw over 130 boys attend and culminated in the traditional fixture of a Potential Cornwall U17 XV against the U16 County Cup winners at Bodmin RFC. This year saw the Cornwall side face Truro U16 in a very competitive game, with the Cornwall XV coming out on top.

From the original 130+ players the U17 squad is cut down to approx 65 players who are all invited to attend the U17 squad day at Bodmin RFC in November. As this is the age group where players leave school and enter colleges there is a huge amount of disruption in the squad selection as many players develop over the summer period, some leave rugby all together, some move clubs or even change position therefore the squad day is a way of seeing where everyone is and what they are doing.

The U17 Group play a number of fixtures over Dec, Jan and Feb and every player in the squad is given at least one game in a Cornwall shirt, this allows the coaching team the opportunity to see how players perform against a higher standard of opposition than many will have faced at this time.

At the end of the U17 season the coaching team select the U18 squad for the following season from the players that have played for the U17. The reason behind this is that the U18 season begins early in the autumn and there is not the time to go through another selection process. However due to recent changes to the structured Constituent Body (CB) signed off by the RFU this may change as the U17 & U18 seasons will be different in the future.

Any questions about CRFU U17 or U18 Group please contact me on 07800880381 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Seven of this seasons Cornwall U18 group squad have been successful in taking the next step toward representing England Counties at U18 level.

The two weekends of the October half term saw all eight counties in the South West Division compete at Bristol Grammar School. The aim of this contest is to select players to represent the South West in the divisional weekend against other divisions from around England.

The players have been selected from over 200 players who took part in the championship at Bristol. They will be part of a 37 man squad that will take part in a final assessment day which is held at Hartbury College in Gloucester on 15th January.

If they are successful following the final assessment they will play against a Gloucester Rugby Academy side on 28th Jan and finally compete in the Divisional weekend on 24th & 25th Feb.

Players who compete in the divisional weekend are then selected to represent England Counties U18.

Congratulations to the players selected and we wish you all luck in the next stages.

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The Cornwall Rugby Football Union was formed in 1883 and operated until 2009 as an unincorporated body when it registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 becoming Cornwall Rugby Football Union Limited. Clubs affiliated to Cornwall Rugby Football Union Limited are Members with representatives of each club in…